Kenya worst hit in East Africa by cyber crime

April 27, 2017 by Lynn Wandia

Cyber crime has been dubbed “burglary for the 21st Century” around the globe. But the scale of the crimes which can now be committed means millions of finances can now be stolen at the touch of a button.

In East Africa, Kenya recorded the highest losses, $171 million, to cyber criminals. Banks have become the leading target of cybercrime as people increasingly adopt the use of financial technology. According to Serianu’s Cybersecurity Report 2016, African countries lost at least $2 billion in cyberattacks in 2016.

Tanzania lost $85 million while Ugandan companies lost $35 million. Over one-third of organisations that experienced a breach in 2016 reported substantial customer, opportunity and revenue loss of more than 20 percent, this according to Cisco 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report.

Kenyan bank accounts are more prone than ever to cybercrime owing to the growing use and adoption at risk. This statement has been evidenced by statistics present in the recent Kenya Cybersecurity Report 2016, published by Serianu Limited and which asserts that Kenya lost about $175million last year.

In 2016, we witnessed more advanced attacks in banks mostly perpetrated by insiders, raising the concern that the banking sector is unprepared to deal with insider threats. According to the Serianu Report, other sectors that have attracted criminals are the government, telecommunications, mobile money services, Saccos, microfinance and co-operatives, e-commerce and online markets